In its first three days of service, Metro Transit’s new Green Line offered a more dignified trip for the disabled, a slower commute than the car, a roomier ride than the bus and a sounding board for all other manner of praise, criticism and commentary.

While there were no official ridership numbers available Monday, commuters continued to test out the new light-rail line. No major problems were reported, but some passengers said their commutes to work Monday were taking longer than expected.

One was Mirian Simpson of Brooklyn Park.

She rolled into downtown St. Paul at 7:50 a.m. Monday instead of her usual 7:10 a.m. arrival time.

“It was too slow this morning,” said Simpson, who vowed to switch back to the Route 94 bus. “It made me late for work.”

Nate Roisen, who boards at Lexington Parkway for work in downtown St. Paul, said he hopes the commute will speed up as kinks in traffic signal coordination are worked out.

“It stops at the major intersections more than I would want,” said Roisen, who regularly commutes by bus. “Time-wise, I think it’s pretty similar. But comfort-wise, it’s much better.”

Sara Kay ditched her typical method of getting to work — a 10-minute car ride into St. Paul’s Midway from Minneapolis’ Seward neighborhood — and bicycled to the line’s West Bank Station to board the light rail Monday morning. Door-to-door, her trip took about 30 minutes.

Why opt for the slower commute? Kay enjoys biking and appreciates the exercise, likes knowing she’s reducing her “carbon footprint” and now has more incentive to explore the University Avenue eateries and neighborhoods along the state’s second light rail line.

Saturday’s rain-soaked debut drew an estimated 45,000 riders in the first eight hours alone, according to Metro Transit, and the line carried 30,000 passengers from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday.

Weekend rides were free, so accurate estimates of future use are uncertain. The true test of the system will come this week as everyday commuters climb on board the 11-mile, 23-station line linking the downtowns of St. Paul and Minneapolis.

Metro Transit officials said they expect an official ridership count for the weekend to be released Thursday, followed by a tally of weekday ridership.

The first three service days involved a few minor problems.

On Monday night, a Green Line train struck a car along University Avenue in St. Paul after the car ran a red light and turned in front of it, Metro Transit police said.

The driver was cited for failure to obey a traffic-control device following the 8:20 p.m. collision at Hampden Avenue. The train left under its own power 15 minutes later. No one was injured.

About 3:30 p.m. Sunday, a motorist got stuck after driving onto the tracks near the state Capitol, slowing service for about a half-hour, said Metro Transit spokesman John Siqveland.

Siqveland said there were no mechanical issues with trains or the rail system during the debut.

At 11:30 p.m. Sunday, a man reported having his cell phone stolen by a group of young men getting off the train at the Dale Street Station. There were no serious injuries.

While making fewer stops than a typical local bus, the Green Line might not offer a faster commute than a car might. But Kay and riders like her said they’ll ride it anyway because of cost savings on gas and parking, environmental considerations or ease of use.

Longtime Metro Transit riders say the Green Line is a slower replacement for express bus routes that have been trimmed or discontinued.

The discarded routes include Route 144 along Snelling Avenue and Interstate 94 to downtown Minneapolis and the University of Minnesota, as well as the Route 50, which on paper traveled between the two downtowns in anywhere from 39 to 55 minutes (it was late about 25 percent of the time).

R.J. Duff said his commute to and from downtown St. Paul grew by 7 minutes each way compared with his old bus trip from Roseville on the Route 65, which no longer stops downtown.

That said, the trip is “a little more comfortable,” and the level platform allows direct boarding for passengers with strollers or wheelchairs, reducing back-ups, he said.

Trips along the entire route from the Union Depot in St. Paul to Target Field Station in Minneapolis are scheduled to take 48 minutes. Trains were clocking in at about an hour over the weekend because of the large crowds, Siqveland said.

Overnight and early-morning trips were mostly on schedule, he said, but end-to-end trips took nearly an hour Monday morning after a car hit a traffic pole in St. Paul.

Metropolitan Council officials have said most users will make local stops within the corridor, rather than riding it end-to-end.

Frederick Melo came to the Pioneer Press in 2005 and brings an aggressive East Coast attitude to St. Paul beat reporting. He spent nearly six years covering crime in the Dakota County courts before switching focus to the St. Paul mayor's office, city council, and all things neighborhood-related, from the city's churches to its parks and light rail. A resident of Hamline-Midway, he is married to a Frogtown woman. He Tweets manically at @FrederickMelo

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